The Tropical Fruit Forum

I have a Lula seedling that I'd like to graft some Lula budwood onto. PM me if you have anything in So. Flo.

Thanks,
 
    Gary

I have a Lancitilla that has not thrived in over 6 years in ground. It grows like a weed but has produced only 1 fruit that rotted on the tree.  I "pugged" it and am looking for scions of a Beverly or another green (preferably late season) when ripe mango.

I got interested in smaller papaya plants because the L-A-R-G-E samples I've had were a pain to pick fruit from as they grew very tall. When it came time to take them down they were a seriously big mess. The one redeeming aspect is the fruits were very good without any hint of the typical rancid smell, or vomit overtones in the flavor.

So, I noted a few small stature samples from a batch of seedlings I planted, and picking the smallest tree from every generation yielded truly dwarf (by humongous size comparison to the original parent) trees. These fruited three to four feet from the ground, and stayed petite (no more than 7-8 feet) while keeping a base caliper less than six inches in diameter. I'm on my third and possibly last generation of attempts to get reasonably edible fruit.

Each successive generation yielded fewer, smaller fruits with fewer seeds, and on this third generation, the fruit are insipid AND none of the very few seeds that were in the fruit have germinated so far.  Surprisingly the squirrels seem to like them more than other fruits I'd prefer they not eat :-)

This is so disappointing as I had high hopes for these samples. Has anyone else done anything like this? 

 

My Sweetheart has exploded in bloom after a few years of shy blooming. The Mauritius bought in a 3 gallon pot and put in ground ten years ago is in its first bloom and is trying desperately to catch up to the sweetheart. The purple custard apple having been a stingy bloomer In ground 5 years (from a 7+ gal pot)  has over 30 fruits in size from ping pong balls to softballs. The fairchild #2 gave up a huge crop and has slowed to a drizzle and while some of the mango bloomed and dropped everything, at least the Carrie has set a bunch, I hope they hold on.

On the down side... The two Caimito have bloomed a few years in a row and nothing else and the Excalibur Mamey (bought in a 7 or 10 gallon pot) is still devoid of blooms after 10 years in ground. It's getting pulled if it does not bloom by the fall.  The soursop is in ground 7 years and had ONE fruit pollinate last fall, the tree rats got it.

So, anyone else have good (or bad) news?

One of my papaya is giving up the sweetest fruit I've ever had in a papaya. The fruit is golden yellow, and juicy the tree is as yet manageable in size but I suspect it will ultimately be a big fellow. 

Seeds in any quantity for South Florida residents to pick up only, sorry no traveling or Mail. PM me for info, those who know me call or text.

I had a 50+ gallon rain barrel that was scheduled to go to recycling then I thought I'd punch a bunch of holes in it and compost my GF's and neighbors kitchen debris.

With it nearly full (not completely composted yet) I'm thinking that with the "recipe" I found online (1/3 garbage, 1/3 leaves and such, and 1/3 soil) I'm beginning to rethink the whole deal.

I did not have any soil lying about so I went and bought nearly a dozen cheap bags of "top soil" for the 1/3 soil part, and have used my leaf litter (depriving some of my trees of mulch) for the other 1/3 to mix with the garbage. Yes, I'll eventually wind up with nearly 50 gallons of compost but realistically I could just as well have bought a few 50 pound bags of Black Cow composted manure and not have wasted the effort.

Yeah, I saved the dump from getting our 15 gallons or so of garbage but once this experiment is done, I'm thinking of going the black cow route.

Has anyone else started composting and made it a LONG term endeavor? Your reasons for continuing to do it, aside from save the planet issue.

Over two week I was stung in my palm by an insect I have never seen before. It was long, black, 3/4 of an inch long and 1/4 inch wide and wingless with a stinger at the rear 

The sting was like notning I ever experienced from a bee or wasp. It was like an electric shock followed by extreme itching for over a week  Any Ideas what it may have been?

I have a number of papaya growing, when small (under 9' or so) they're nice property borders. I don't mind handling fruit fly, or the mess they create with leaves, but at the end of life at a large size I don't like removing them. So, I kill them before they get unmanageable.

I read of TR Hovey but I bought some seeds a few years ago, and what I received and grew was anything but small. Does anyone have a source of true dwarf papaya seeds?

I decapitated my Lancetilla a couple of weeks ago as it's been in ground 5 years, grew like a weed but has only produced one mango which never matured. My other 5 mango trees have had great crops.

I am looking for budwood  from a late season cultivar like Beverly. Does anyone have a Beverly they can sell budwood from?

I've kept a dated record of everything I planted and when it gave me fruit since I moved in and started planting in 2010, does anyone else?

If nothing else these records have given me more realistic expectations for time to fruit AND what may soon get the chop

Year 1-2  Banana, pineapple, papaya
Year 3-4  Muscadine Grapes, lemon and strawberry guava, Julie seedling, Madame Francis and Glenn Mango, purple custard apple, carambola, mulberry
Year 5-6 Jaboticaba (Sabara) South Florida and Winterset persimmon, tropic beauty peach, Pickering mango, sugar apple, Makok sapodilla, lemon drop mangosteen,
             Fairchild #2 canistel
Year 7-8 Sweetheart Lychee, Geffner Atemoya, Bangkok lemon Jak, 

Trees that have not yielded

4 years Longan
5 years Yellow, blue and grimal Jabo, green and purple caimito (flowered no fruit), kampong mauve sugar apple, san pablo custard apple, Lancetilla mango.
6 years soursop
9 years Excalibur mamey, tropic sweet peach, mauritius lychee

Trees I removed or * are on the short list to chop

White sapote -- kept dying back and recovering
Green sapote -- SLOW growth and L-O-N-G time to ripen fruit
Gold nugget jak -- Grew like wildfire started to undermine patio with huge roots. Fruited very well
Zebrina Rojo, and Blue java bananas Zebrina tasted awful, Blue java got way too large
*Excalibur mamey, tropic sweet peach and soursop, Lancetilla ( I may top work it)

A fellow reader on another forum would like an ID on this wild growing tree / bush, can anyone help?

Oh, they're evergreen, seem to spread by runners under the forest mulch and deer seem to not eat them.

I have no lawn in my back yard, it's just about completely shaded and I regularly apply thick layers of hardwood and fruit wood mulch supplied by local tree trimming  crews.

Every year I have lots of sorrel pop up and I regularly uproot it. But, I'm wondering if I shouldn't just let it be and multiply?  Anyone else have opinions of leaving or removing it?

I have Fairchild #2 canistel seedlings, a purple Caimito about 5' tall (in large concrete pot needs to be removed)  one "supreme" loquat (old Fla cultivar grown by a grower in WPB) in a 1 gal, as well as several grumichama seedlings. Free for pickup in north Broward, Coral Springs.

Oh, and all the Kari and Kajang fruit and seeds you care to take.

Sorry, no shipping, don't ask... If you ask, I won't reply :-)